stiffened 1 of 2

stiffened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of stiffen
as in strengthened
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe plans to further stiffen the already onerous requirements for admission to the elite military unit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stiffened
Verb
Pulisic played a dynamic first half in the Americans' historic 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open their home World Cup nearly two weeks ago, but the AC Milan midfielder came off at halftime after an injury from training stiffened up. ABC News, 24 June 2026 Nicks on the edge or stiffened, curled rubber will leave streaks. Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 June 2026 The moose flinched and stiffened. Fred Bear, Outdoor Life, 11 June 2026 Reintroduce moisture, apply heat to convert that water to steam, and those stiffened starch molecules soften again. Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 3 June 2026 His eyes locked to the right, his tiny body stiffened and his face turned red. Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026 There was a sudden spring shower, which stiffened into rain. Sam Knight, New Yorker, 14 May 2026 The journey of King Charles and the Queen consort had been planned for some time, well before relations between the United Kingdom and the United States stiffened due to international tensions, compounded by the assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Giorgia Olivieri, Vanity Fair, 28 Apr. 2026 June stiffened, a pillar of ice. Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiffened
Adjective
  • How to Restore Absorbency to Towels To restore absorbency to stiff towels, Sokolowski recommends performing a deep clean.
    Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 30 June 2026
  • Vigorously whisk remaining 1 cup of cream with powdered sugar in a large bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
    Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • Away from social media, the roommates have settled into simple traditions that have only strengthened their friendship.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
  • Flag football’s prolific growth has strengthened the sport at every amateur level from peewees to the Olympics and led to the NFL’s $32 million commitment for men’s and women’s professional flag leagues to debut next year.
    Tim Graham, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Adjective
  • Instead of forcing business owners to constantly upload mountains of paper invoices or rigid bank statements, Magellan monitors the real-time transactions flowing directly through its platform.
    Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 30 June 2026
  • The trust could provide financial support for a broad group of beneficiaries defined by you, rather than by rigid family-tree relationships.
    Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Adjective
  • Goldin, who appeared in 11 Heat games as a rookie, was very solid on Friday, blocking a shot by Maliq Brown and then blocking a shot on an alley oop.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
  • Additionally, Thursday morning’s mission was the last to use the Atlas V’s most powerful configuration with five strap-on solid rocket boosters.
    Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 3 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Stiffened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiffened. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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